Poundland’s four remaining Suffolk stores face further uncertainty as the retailer’s owners prepare to face MPs amid last-minute efforts to secure its future.
The discount chain, which has branches in Ipswich, Felixstowe, Sudbury and Bury St Edmunds, is understood to be unable to buy new stock after its owner, Gordon Brothers, restricted access to company funds.
The BBC reported that around £50 million had been frozen, with one insider describing the retailer as “running on fumes”.
Its roughly 600 stores are consequently beginning to run short of stock.
It comes as Poundland races to secure a rescue deal before protection from its creditors expires on Thursday.
Gordon Brothers, the US investment firm which acquired Poundland for £1 last year, is in talks with several prospective buyers.
Liam Byrne, chairman of Parliament’s Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, said MPs understood there were “active talks with several credible buyers about selling Poundland as a going concern”.
Gordon Brothers is expected to give evidence to MPs in private on Wednesday because of the commercially sensitive negotiations.
It was previously reported how the future of Suffolk’s stores has been thrown into doubt by the sale process, with no branch in the county specifically earmarked for closure.
The chain has already undergone a significant restructuring since Gordon Brothers took control, including the closure of more than 100 shops nationally.
Potential bidders for Poundland include Martin Property Group and Xyra Holdings, while offers have also been made for parts of the business.
If a rescue cannot be agreed, advisory firm AlixPartners has reportedly been lined up to oversee a potential insolvency, leaving the future of thousands of workers and stores, including those in Suffolk, in the balance.
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